How do you say I Love You in Chinese?
Rather than just giving you the translation, we are going one step further and to create a guide with some excellent alternatives, giving you the perfect back catalogue to not just express your love in Chinese, but much more!
Before we start, here’s a brilliant insight into how NOT to chat someone up in Chinese, and the top tip for winning that special someone. Thanks to our wonderful friend Keren at Unconventional Chinese for the video…
Play How do you say I Love You in Chinese?We already know this, but just to make sure…!
Simple and no frills, the direct translation exactly matches the English, something which is not always common when translating from Chinese to English and vice versa. It is worth noting that although the word love is banded around in English a lot, in China this might not be the case.
Not in Chinese – love is a strong word to use so only say it if you really mean it. You tell a Chinese person you love them, there’s no going back! How do you say I Like You in Chinese?
Again, the translation is the literal from English with 喜欢 representing to like something/someone.
Plenty of uses for the word. Remember, as love is not so widely used in Chinese, it might be best to start out with using like instead of love.
How do you say Beautiful Girl in Chinese?美女 – Měi nǚ
Sorry to dumb it down, of course it’s a compliment, but perhaps it’s watered down a bit. In English let’s say the equivalent might be calling someone darling/love/honey etc. You hear them, you respond to them, but it’s just what we are used to. It’s always nice to be called a Beautiful Girl, because that’s what the translation is… but it is generic and said to many people! How do you say Handsome Man in Chinese?
Similarly to the above this is widely used, but also still a compliment. The literal meaning is Handsome Brother (哥哥 meaning older brother). It is used to state Handsome Man or Cute Boy. So, remember, as nice as it is to receive these compliments, there’s probably a lot of other people who have heard the same! See what Cam, Katie & Jane think about dating in ChinaOther ways of Expressing Liking and Love in Chinese
How do you say I’m Interested In You in Chinese?
We use the 对 here to confirm the relationship between two things, in this case 我 and 你 (me and you). After this the 感兴趣 simply translates to interested in and can be used for other things like:
How do you say I Really Like You in Chinese?
We take what we learnt earlier and just add 非常 which means very/extremely/really. 非常好 meaning very good, 非常有意思 meaning very interesting. How do you say You Mean So Much to Me in Chinese?
Notice we’ve used the 对 grammar structure again to state the relationship between two things (you and your partner once again). 重要 is a useful word to learn and means important. How do you say I Love You Too in Chinese?
Very simple one here with just one addition from what we’ve already learnt.
Similarly 我也喜欢你 means I also like you/I like you too. How do you say I’m Happy With You in Chinese?Cranking it up a notch here but still pretty simple to learn when you break it down and practice speaking.
The main grammatical thing to note is that when in Chinese (when used as a statement, and not a question), does not appear at the start of the sentence. In a question, when appears at the start of the sentence as 什么时候, but in a statement, as above, 的时候 appears later in the sentence. Sounds confusing, but after a few examples you get used to it.
How do you say You’ve Stolen My Heart in Chinese?
Getting into super smooth talking territory now! The translation is very simple because it matches the English!
What does 520 in Chinese mean?
Chinese culture is incredibly interesting in many ways. The obsession with smart phones, although a worldwide thing, is particularly strong in China. …and just to prove to you this obsession exists, here are some examples of “number slang”, because typing “I Love You” is too much effort anyway. In fact, the diagnosis for this obsession is so strong, that the Chinese themselves have a name for this group of smart phone addicts which is a good one to teach you:
Now you plug that into Google Translate and this is what you’ll get. Doesn’t really shed much light does it. Let’s try one character at a time:
Why are we telling you this? We tell you this because these terms below are all used via message in place of words (via WeChat/Text/Whatsapp/Online etc). They have been coined by Chinese and taken off, very much like when LOL, LMAO and ROFL came to prominence years ago (feeling old yet)!
How to Break Up with Someone in Chinese?
There may well be a day where you have to roll out the break up lines in Chinese – let’s hope for your sake you don’t need to use these! First and foremost the key vocab to get in your head if you are ready to pull the plug is:
So putting that into a sentence, we’d say:
But what if you want to go into a bit more detail about why you are breaking up? Here’s our guide… How do you say We Need To Talk in Chinese?
Ah the writing is on the wall when you hear this one. Four words no one wants to ever hear! The grammar is pretty simple and either of the above suffices. The second example is probably the more simplistic of the two because the direct translation is:
The first example holds the same meaning and if you drop either of these out, your partner’s heart will sink no slower! Approach with caution! Basic Mandarin 📣 105 Simple Phrases To Make Your Life EasierBasic Mandarin Phrases – Learn the Chinese greetings and other basic phrases in minutes with our pocket guide for Chinese beginners, How do you say It’s Not You It’s Me in Chinese?
Again, it’s a simple translation this one, with no complicated grammar structures or things to note. 是我 simply means it’s me. Adding the 不 in front of this makes it a negative. Job done. How do you say Let’s Just Be Friends in Chinese?A kick in the proverbials, they want you to hang around, but not for reasons you’d hoped. Never easy and almost certainly it never ends well.
One little bit of grammar to pick up here is the 吧 which you might see and hear quite often.
Harsh! How do you say I think we need a break in Chinese
Again the translation is literal from English so it’s nice and easy to remember when you have the vocab nailed!
How do you say I need my space in Chinese
Key words to pick up here are:
How do you say Will You Marry Me in Chinese?
How do you propose in Chinese though?
愿意 meaning wish/want/like and 嫁 meaning to marry (a woman). This statement assumes it’s the male proposing! If the female decides to make the bold move then she would say:
The 娶 means to take a wife. Of course these aren’t the only ways to drop the bomb, you would also suffice using:
A more presumptuous way would be to use:
How do you talk about the Friendzone in Chinese?When you like the person who is laying bare his heart (表白 Biǎobái) to you it’s wonderful, but what to do when this happens and you’re just not feeling it?
Explaining to the other person you don’t see him/her in a romantic context, ideally without hurting their feelings any more than necessary is not easy. It’s already a real challenge when speaking your mother tongue, so how to friendzone someone in Chinese? The literal translation for the term “Friendzone” in Chinese is:
Therefore, if you want to say “I’ve been friendzoned ” you’d say:
Or “I’m stuck in the Friend zone” you’d say:
Then, you might also need to say you want to get out of the friend-zone:
Or you want to escape the friend-zone:
Although the term “friendzone” is (朋友区) is becoming more and more popular amongst the young generation in China, there is another expression which describes this kind of situation:
As you can easily imagine it came from the typical scenario of someone turning down an admirer by saying:
I Love You In Chinese – ConclusionSo there you have it – I Love You in Chinese and so much more! Let’s round them up below: … and just to finally round it all off, another guide on what NOT to do when chatting up. Lesson here, don’t trust your friends!
Play And last but certainly not least, why not take your language skills to a whole new level and find out how to express your love and affection in Vietnamese and also Japanese as well! Love in China – FAQ’sHow do you say “Love at first sight” in Chinese?Is dating in China different to the west?There will be cultural differences that you should be aware of when dating a Chinese national in China. It’s important to respect these cultural differences as certain behaviours can be very different to that of the western world. For example, saying I Love You can happen far quicker in China than in the west. Wearing matching clothes is a common occurrence with couples in China also. There are many differences that it’s useful to familiarize yourself with. Can I get married in China?From April 1st 2019, two foreigners are not allowed to register their marriage at the Civil Affairs offices in China. However, a marriage between a foreigner and a Chinese national are allowed. How do you say “did it hurt when you fell out of heaven” in Chinese?你从天而降的时候, 有没有受伤? Nǐ cóngtiān’érjiàng de shíhou, yǒu méiyǒu shòushāng? Are wedding ceremonies in China like the west?Chinese weddings are generally very different to western weddings. An example of this is photographs. In the west, the photographs take place just before or after the ceremony, on the same day. In China usually the couple will have a wedding album prepared before their wedding. This will include pictures of the couple around some famous hotspots or places that mean something to them. This album is then on show for guests at the wedding. What are the common colours at a Chinese wedding?Gold is one of the most commonly used colours because it represents wealth and fortune. However the most common colour at a Chinese wedding is Red. Red plays a crucial role in Chinese weddings. Red is associated with success, honour and loyalty to name but a few. White is to be avoided. White is actually associated with funerals. Dark colours like black, gray, and dark blue, are also not included. Do you often see Chinese/Foreign couples in China?In the bigger cities especially these couples are becoming more and more common. Gone are the days when you are stared at for dating someone of a different race. The smaller cities of China, you may well attract more attention but with Shanghai and Shenzhen especially (Beijing/Guangzhou etc also) the number of foreigners is growing and therefore, so is the number of Chinese/Foreigner couples. Can a foreigner become a Chinese citizen?Yes they can. To apply a foreigner must satisfy some/all of the following criteria: 1 – Have close relatives who are Chinese nationals. 2 – Have settled in China 3 – Have other genuine reasons for applying for citizenship. Want more from LTL?If you wish to hear more from LTL Mandarin School why not join our mailing list.
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What is the Chinese word of I love You?The most common way to say “I love you” in Mandarin is 我喜欢你 (wǒ xǐhuan nǐ), as I mentioned before. That said, it's not wrong to say 我爱你 (wǒ ài nǐ) – “I love you” – either. It's just one of those phrases that a Chinese native speaker will understand but wouldn't often use.
What does WǑ ài NǏ mean in English?I love you 我爱你 (Wǒ ài nǐ) – is probably the most important combination of three words in the English language. Saying the phrase is so common in English-speaking countries that it has become a normal part of people's language.
Do people say I love you in China?Saying “I love you” in Mandarin is sometimes as simple as saying 我爱你 (wǒ ài nǐ). But there are also many other, less straightforward ways to convey the same sentiments. In China, you'd mostly use expressions other than “I love you” to show your love and affection.
What is I love you too in Chinese number?520 (wǔ èr líng) = 我爱你 (wǒ ài nǐ) “I love you.”
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